Huayang Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

Huayang Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

Huayang Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery is a cultural tourism attraction and a classic red tourism site.

Huayang, situated in a revolutionary old base area at the border of Zhejiang and Fujian, saw its people fight bravely against the enemy from 1934 to 1937 under the direct leadership of the Red Army’s Min Dong guerrilla unit and Independent Regiment (i.e., the 7th Red Army Corps Advance Division). Local She people such as Li Shengfu and Li Zhao’i were among the first to receive Party education, influenced by the Min Dong guerrilla unit active in Fujian at the time. They subsequently joined the underground Party and were dispatched by the Party organization in the autumn of 1934 to carry out underground activities in Niujiaowan, Huayang. They successively recruited over twenty people, including Li Xiangu, Li Xianjing, Liao Guohuai, Liao Guobing, Liao Baowu, Li Zhao’ru, and Li Xuetong, to join the Red Army. In the spring of 1936, they recommended Li Xiangu to join the Independent Regiment. From then on, a small Red Army organization was established in the Huayang area. Until liberation, the people of Huayang continued to fight arduously through those years and a total of 30 martyrs sacrificed their lives honorably.

Huayang Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery is located on Laoshu Mountain at Qigan Gang in Huayang, Guanmei Town, Cangnan County. It was built in December 1959, facing west, and was renovated in December 1980. The site covers an area of 760 square meters with a construction area of 323 square meters.

The main structures of the cemetery include a memorial monument and martyr tombs. The memorial monument stands about 10 meters tall, inscribed with the words “Eternal Glory to the Martyrs Who Heroically Sacrificed for the Revolutionary Cause of the People.” On both sides of the monument are flower stands planted with various blooms. Behind the monument lies a horizontal memorial wall about 13 meters long and 1 meter high, beneath which 15 martyrs are laid to rest. Above the martyrs' tomb area is a prominent slogan that reads “Cherish the Memory of the Martyrs, Love Our China.” To the left are the remains of seven martyrs, and to the right, eight. Of the 30 martyrs, 22 are local heroes who sacrificed during the Agrarian Revolutionary War and the War of Resistance Against Japan, while 8 are People's Liberation Army soldiers who died in the War of Liberation. On the back left side of the memorial wall lie the remains of 20 additional martyrs, relocated from various locations such as Puping, Changchan, Dupu, Wufeng, Tinnan, and Guanmei—including those from the 016 Unit stationed in Fanshan. The cemetery is enclosed by walls over two meters high and is surrounded by lush pines and cypresses, both inside and out, presenting a solemn and majestic sight.

Huayang Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery is a patriotic education base in Cangnan County.

Source: Party History Research Office of the CPC Wenzhou Municipal Committee